Civic duty

Well, I went and voted today in the Texas primary. Texas allows early voting, so I've made it a habit to do so in order to 1) avoid long lines on election day and B) avoid hunting for remote, obscure and/or moved polling places for my precinct (which has happened to me before. Believe me, it's no fun). So I drove down to the Comal County Courthouse and was surprised to find a line of folks waiting to vote stretching out the door of the voting room and into the hall. They were all voting in the Democratic primary. This is significant, because in the whole red state/blue state dichotomy, New Braunfels--and Comal County in general--is redder than Vladimir Lenin's boxer shorts. There was a steady trickle of Republican primary voters to be sure, but they came in ones and twos, signed in and voted right away, whereas the Democratic had a wait that never got shorter than 4-5 people at a time.

The woman in front of me was a little confused when the volunteers asked her if she wanted to vote in the Democratic primary, just to confirm she was in the correct line. The woman stammered a little, then admitted she normally votes Republican but was there to "Vote against Hillary." I nearly broke down laughing--Obama's coalition is broadening its base all the time, it seems.

I, ultimately, cast my lot in with Obama. Al Gore, unfortunately, wasn't an option. John Edwards, who I voted for in '04, was an option, but as much as I liked him four years ago, he really underwhelmed this time around. The same goes for Bill Richardson, who I sorta liked--a less inspiring campaign I've seldom seem. I've grown increasingly disconnected from Hillary over the years, and the longer her campaign soldiers on, the more she continues to disappoint. It seems she's willingly playing into all the negative perceptions of her, and I can't understand how someone that intelligent can allow herself such petty behavior. The fact that Hillary may be the only thing that can get the Religious Right and neocons to unite and back McCain in the general election (see above paragraph) doesn't help her case with me, either.

Not that I think Obama's a sure thing if he does end up being the nominee. Primary victories aside, silent racism is going to cost him votes in a national election. He's too callow on national and international issues--my biggest problem with Edwards last go-around as well--and I'm not convinced he can survive a swift boat-style attack from the Republicans. And he's a good bit left of my normal political leanings. In any other year, I might actually be leaning toward McCain, but after 8 years of wing nut rule, and McCain showing no signs of repudiating that wing of the GOP (the same ones who killed him in '00 against Dubya with nasty rumors of his fathering an illegitimate black child) I'm kinda thinking that maybe four or more years of left-leaning government wouldn't be such a bad thing.



Obama, if nothing else, is the most dynamic, eloquent and charismatic candidate my generation has ever seen (and we're a pretty cynical, jaded bunch). I was similarly inspired by Clinton back in '92, but his centrist government (yay!) was undercut by his personal shenanigans (boo!) and I, along with many others I suspect, became disillusioned with politics in general. Obama has rock star appeal, and for all the world reminds me of Kennedy with his soaring rhetoric and optimistic enthusiasm. He may not deliver on all those promised--heck, there's no way anyone can live up to these expectations--but at least he's willing to try. That's worth a chance in my book.



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